Your stolen watch recovered.
Get it back.™
Watch Recovery International is a specialist service that recovers stolen watches and resolves title disputes involving fine timepieces. We do what law enforcement often cannot or will not do in today’s world. We liaise with the police, possessors of stolen watches, good-faith buyers, lawyers, dealers, auction houses, and insurance companies to recover what was stolen from you—ethically, legally, and discreetly.
Who We Are
Watch Recovery International is a wholly owned subsidiary of Art Recovery International, LLC the most successful stolen art recovery service in the world. The service is owned and operated by attorney Christopher A. Marinello who has recovered over $600M worth of stolen and looted works of art, classic cars, and fine timepieces. Chris has assembled a team of lawyers, investigators, and professionals with a worldwide reach to recover stolen timepieces.
What to do when your watch is stolen?
First and foremost, file a police report and obtain a crime reference number. Try to get a copy of the report and don’t forget to add the serial numbers of the stolen watch(s) to the actual report. If you don’t have this on hand at the time of the theft, make sure you get the contact details for the officer handling your case and ask that it be added later. Why is this important? When the stolen watch is located, the first thing the “possessor” argues is “how do we know this watch was stolen and not sold by the owner?”
Don’t worry if you are not able to do this or have already filed a police report without the serial numbers. We can still show that the watch belonged to you with purchase receipts, service records, and insurance schedules. We can help you in dealing with the police on this issue.
Register the watch on as many stolen watch databases as you can find. There are an increasing number of online watch registers available to victims. Some are honest and ethical, and some are not. The most important of these registers are databases run by the watch manufacturers themselves. We recommend contacting the manufacturer with a copy of the police report and the serial numbers and/or your certificate. Make sure that you provide them with your contact details in the event that the stolen watch is ever consigned for sale or brought in for service. Why is this important? Fine timepieces require service every few years and the watch manufacturers provide a service for their customers whereby they will notify you if the watch appears at one of their dealers or service centres. If you need assistance with this, feel free to contact us. With a limited Power of Attorney, we can register these for you and remain the point of contact if the watch should ever surface.
A warning about watch registers.
There are many places for you to register your stolen watch but BEWARE of any watch register that also wants to “help” you recover your stolen timepiece. The way these watch registers work, is that they are paid by the auction houses and online sellers to check their sale catalogues. They are also paid by dealers and collectors who want to search their databases. Why is this a problem? In the legal world, this is called a conflict of interest. They can’t ethically accept money from the sellers of your stolen watch AND demand payment from YOU to try and recover your watch. Their obligation is to the auction houses and their subscribers. They do not and will not act in your best interest when they are already beholden to the seller. We know of one such watch register that will take money from both sides of a dispute and return the stolen item to the one who pays them the most! How to deal with these watch registers? If they notify you that your watch has been located, obtain the information and tell them that you have your own lawyer or representative who will work on the recovery. Shockingly, one watch register refused, on numerous occasions, to notify the victim of the location of their stolen watch unless they agreed to pay an additional “location” or “recovery” fee. This occurred even though the victim PAID this watch register to help them locate the stolen watch in the first place. Should this ever happen to you, contact us and we’ll have a few words with them.
If you were insured, notify your insurance company immediately.
More about insurance below.
My stolen watch has surfaced, what should I do?
There are a number of ways that your stolen watch can resurface. You could be notified by the police that they made an arrest. Your watch could appear for sale online or via one of the big auction houses. You could get an email from the manufacturer if you followed our registration instructions,
Interestingly, many victims of watch theft seem to locate their own stolen watches themselves. Why does this happen? Many victims search the internet to replace the stolen watch or are trying to see if anyone is offering it for sale. If this happens, do not notify the seller that they are selling YOUR watch. Contact us immediately to develop a careful recovery strategy. We have found many smaller auction houses and online sellers will take the information you give them and return the stolen watch to the person they acquired it from never to be seen again. Why would they do this? They either want to avoid any legal issues, the cost of hiring a lawyer, or they want to get their money back before we take any action on your behalf. The more reputable sellers will HOLD the stolen watch until the police get involved or a civil settlement with the “possessor” is reached. This is our specialty. We have been very successful in convincing honourable “possessors” of stolen property to do the right thing and return the stolen property unconditionally. At times, we even help recover their purchase price from the person or dealer who sold them the stolen watch, provided they have documentation and had no connection with the original theft.
I’ve registered my stolen watch with the manufacturer, and they have just notified me that the watch has been brought in for service. What happens now? Are they going to return my watch to me?
Unfortunately, they are not going to return your stolen watch to you. We think it’s great that the manufacturers maintain these stolen watch databases but if you look at the fine print of their registration contracts, they only agree to HOLD the watch until law enforcement gets involved or there is some sort of civil settlement. Holding the watch is better than returning it to the person who brought it in for service or returning it to the thief, but it is up to you to take action. You have a very short period of time in which to act. Some of these Swiss manufacturers think that other police forces around the world operate the same way the Swiss police do. Unfortunately, they don’t. We have been waiting over a year for the police in the UK to file “a sequestration order” to seize a stolen watch for a client being held in Geneva. The police officer has no idea what he is doing, nor does he want to be bothered. We are working on an alternative solution.
Why do I need Watch Recovery, won’t the police recover my stolen watch?
Yeah, good luck with that. With all due respect to law enforcement everywhere, police departments are understaffed and underfunded these days. Over the past few years, police have been busy with immigration issues, Covid and other health issues, and the rise in violent crimes. The last thing they have time for is to assist you in recovering your stolen timepiece. If you do happen to be lucky enough to live in a jurisdiction with a helpful police officer, terrific. However, most police forces today will hand out a criminal complaint and crime reference number to give to your insurance company and that’s the last time they want to hear from you. It’s sad but true. We have countless examples of stolen watches being held by Swiss manufacturers who "are waiting for local police intervention via Interpol” that will never come.
Insurance
I am insured for theft, what do I do?
After notifying the police that your watch was stolen, you need to notify your insurance company and file a claim. If the stolen watch ever surfaces, we will assist in recovering the watch from the possessor on behalf of your insurer. We have contracts with many fine art and specie insurance companies and will ethically and legally work towards recovering your stolen timepiece. This means no ransoms will be paid and no payments to criminals which in our view, encourages criminals to steal more watches! We will pay a REWARD for information leading to the recovery of a stolen watch if offered by an insurance company or theft victim. Rewards must be approved by law enforcement and must be legal in the jurisdiction in which we are operating in. Rewards are only paid to individuals that have no connection to the original theft.
When an insured watch is recovered, it is likely the property of your Insurance company who paid the claim. However, there is usually language in the original policy that the theft victim can recover their treasured stolen timepiece by simply returning the original insurance proceeds with or without costs. We will work with your insurer to make sure that the recovered timepiece is offered back to the theft victim in accordance with the terms of the policy. The best part of being insured is that the insurance companies pay our fees, not the theft victim.
What if I already replaced the stolen watch or would rather keep the insurance proceeds?
In this case, we are usually appointed to sell the recovered watch on behalf of your insurer. We sell recovered watches via a list of trusted dealers and auction houses who have cooperated with us during the recovery process. Those dealers who cooperate in returning stolen watches are rewarded with consignments. Those who don’t, get nothing and are usually featured in our recovery press releases to warn buyers and sellers not to do business with such firms.
Fraud
My watch was stolen by fraud can I still recover it?
This is becoming more of a problem than ever. Collectors are consigning watches to dealers who disappear with the timepieces or never send the proceeds after a sale. Some victims have given watches to friends to wear for events and they are never returned. One client gave a six-figure watch to an old friend who had a Chinese copy made. He returned the copy to the victim and then sold the original. Nice friend!
These Chinese copies are flooding the market, and you need to check with the manufacturer to make sure that the watch you are buying is genuine and not a “Frankenstein” watch made up of parts of different watches.
Another client sold his watch collection and obtained fake bank notes in return while a different client decided to sell two watches worth £500,000 and met the buyer at a service station. Of course, the buyer took the watches and never delivered the funds.
The law treats these fraud cases differently from outright theft because it looks at the victim as the person who had the best chance of avoiding the crime. A little bit of due diligence on the buyers or sellers you are dealing with can help to avoid these situations. Consider using our escrow service for the best protection against fraud.
We can still help with these types of cases, but the best course of action is to avoid transacting business with complete strangers. We have a database of “bad guys” in the watch world who have committed fraud or who fail to do the right thing when confronted with their crime.
Additional services and terms
I don’t want to wait until my watch appears for sale or service, what can I do? Do you offer a more proactive approach?
We work with several former law enforcement officers who offer their investigative services to watch theft victims all over the world. These additional services do not come cheap and are often hourly or a fixed rate for a specific job. We can also issue a Theft Alert or REWARD notice that will go out to tens of thousands of collectors, dealers, and auction houses. We often get “tips” from these reward notices from individuals who may know the location of the stolen watches.
Watch Escrow Service
Most of these fraud cases could be avoided if the parties used an escrow service. Everyone knows how escrow works when it comes to buying a house or apartment. The funds are held until the survey of the property comes back clean. For watches, the funds are independently held until the watch checks out as genuine and free of title claims. If it is what the seller says it is, the funds are released. If not, the funds are returned to the buyer and transaction is cancelled. Watch Recovery can provide escrow services for a fee to make sure you are not a victim of scams. We know that a lot of deals are done quickly and in cash, but we recommend that you take it slow to avoid being the victim of watch fraud.
Do you represent watch dealers as well?
Of course, dealers are people too! We work with a lot of dealers who discover that a watch they purchased for resale has been listed on one of the manufacturer’s stolen watch databases. Sometimes this listing is decades old, and the manufacturer has lost contact with the person who “blacklisted” the watch. We have seen the wrong watch listed as stolen and some registrations that should never have been made in the first place. Some of these watch registers are inaccurate or fail to update their databases resulting in a wrongful blacklisting. We can help dealers in these situations by attempting to clear a “stolen” watch so it can be legally and rightfully sold. We have also come across some victims who claim that a watch is stolen when in fact it was not. In these cases, we will demand documentation and will uncover the truth to protect the dealer’s interest.
What is the cost of your services?
Victims of watch theft are often reluctant to pay attorneys by the hour to recover their stolen timepieces. We offer a no-recovery, no-fee solution and a percentage of the value of the recovered timepiece. Please contact us to discuss this further. For dealers looking to clear watches for sale, our fees are calculated on a case-by-case basis.
Pro bono services
“My stolen watch has appeared for sale but it is not very valuable. It has sentimental value to me but I can’t afford to pay for your services.” Get in touch, we are always happy to assist crime victims and often donate our services to those in need.
Confidentiality
We have recovered stolen watches for celebrity clients, Formula 1 drivers, movie stars, politicians, and world leaders. We will never publish your name and contact details.
If necessary, we will sign a non-disclosure agreement, but most clients are satisfied that they are covered by the attorney-client privilege that we offer.
Frequently asked questions
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We handle all major luxury watch brands including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille, Cartier, Omega, Breitling, Hublot, IWC, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and many more. We can recover almost any fine timepiece as long as it has a unique serial number and the theft was reported to the police.
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We have recovered watches within a few weeks of being brought in on a case. However, timelines depend on the cooperation of the parties, the involvement and interest by law enforcement, and the jurisdiction of the theft and current location of the watch.
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Most of our clients prefer to pay us a percentage of the value of the watch only if we recover their timepiece. However, we can work out hourly rates for those who prefer this method. If you were insured, your insurance company will likely pay our fees. We have agreements with many fine art and specie insurance companies. Contact us to discuss an arrangement.
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First and foremost, file a police report and obtain a crime reference number. Try to get a copy of the report and ensure the serial numbers of the stolen watch are added to it. If you don't have the serial number to hand, get the officer's contact details and ask for it to be added later. Then contact us, we can assist in dealing with the police and registering your watch with the manufacturer and relevant databases.
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Do not notify the seller that they are selling your watch. Contact us immediately to develop a careful recovery strategy. Many smaller auction houses and online sellers, if tipped off prematurely, will return the stolen watch to the person they acquired it from, and it may never be seen again. We specialise in approaching possessors at exactly the right moment, after a backup strategy is in place.
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Yes. We have a database of "bad actors" in the watch world who have committed fraud or failed to do the right thing when confronted. These cases are treated differently by law, as the victim is sometimes viewed as having had the best chance of avoiding the crime. We can still help, though prevention is always better, and we strongly recommend using our Watch Escrow Service for any private sale transaction.
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Yes. We work directly with insurers, their loss adjusters, and legal representatives. We are experienced in coordinating recovery efforts alongside the claims process. Insurers tend to offer the recovered watches back to their Insured and we will assist in this process.
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Absolutely. Every case is handled with the utmost discretion. We never share your personal information, the details of your case, or the fact that you are a client without your explicit written consent. We are happy to sign a non-disclosure agreement prior to consultation if required.
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Yes. A police report is an important first step, but law enforcement resources are limited. We operate in parallel, actively monitoring the global pre-owned watch market through channels that police forces do not routinely cover. The two efforts are complementary, not mutually exclusive.
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With all due respect to law enforcement everywhere, police departments are understaffed and underfunded. Most police forces will issue a crime reference number for your insurance company and that's the last they want to hear from you. We have countless examples of stolen watches being held by Swiss manufacturers who are "waiting for local police intervention via Interpol" that will never come. We operate where police cannot or will not.
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After a claim is paid, the recovered watch is likely the property of your insurer. However, there is usually language in the original policy allowing the theft victim to recover their treasured timepiece by returning the insurance proceeds. We will work with your insurer to ensure the recovered watch is offered back to you. Crucially, when an insured watch is recovered, the insurance company pays our fees, not you.
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Of course, dealers are people too. We work with dealers who discover that a watch purchased for resale has been flagged on a manufacturer's stolen watch database. Some of these registrations are decades old, inaccurate, or should never have been made. We can help clear a wrongly listed watch so it can be legally and rightfully sold.